Borrowing and Sound Changes Pt2 Clarifications and /b/ -- /h/ (and more)

皆さん、こんにちは！

Clarifications:

Thanks to some awesome readers in the Omniglot Facebook Group (particularly, Sojeong Min), I was  directed to William H. Baxter's work in historical Chinese phonology. It has been hypothesized that the Chinese /r/ and the Japanese /ni/ were, in Middle Chinese, something akin to /nj/. Others noted that /r/ may be a misleading symbol, as the sound is more similar to /z/ than the English "r" sound--which is an absolutely great point. Therefore, thank you commenters!

Let this serve as a caveat that I am comparing current Mandarin and Japanese sounds, but I am not asserting what proto-sounds may have existed. While I do have some limited experience and enjoyment of historical linguistics, this is not a field that I would ever claim expertise. Moreover, my hypotheses are me testing my own linguistic skills. I don't mind being wrong if I am able to learn something new.

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Today, I would like to look at another group of sounds.

• ba          hachi
• bai         haku
• ban        han
• bei         hoku
• ben        hon
• bing       byoo

Wow! What a cornicopia of linguistic information! Do you see the same patterns that I am seeing?

First and foremost, as the title says, there is a clear connection between the Chinese /b/ and the Japanese /h/. In five of the six examples, we see this difference. Interestingly enough, there is still one  in which there is both /b/ sounds used. What makes this one different?

Well, if the first place that I like to look at are the sounds before and after the sound in question. As these are all word initial, there is only one way to go...to the vowels. If you pronounce the sounds /a/ and /o/, you will notice that both are made with the tongue low in the mouth. At the same time, the sound /i/ brings the tongue up nearer the roof of the mouth. And there we notice a clear distinction.

/b/-->/h/, #_V[low]  This may be translated to mean, the Chinese /b/ is a Japanese /h/ when it is word-initial and followed by a low vowel. 

Also, it can be noted that /ba/ is related to /ha/ while /be/ is related to /ho/. The Chinese /bi/ is the Japanese /by/. Can we find other examples to support this hypothesis?

Interestingly enough, I cannot verify the /bi/ & /by/ connection. Look  at these examples:

• 便 --  bian (pian)            bin, ben
• 彬蔚 -- binwei                hin'utsu

Clearly, this hypothesis needs refinement. What about the other two hypotheses?

• 笆     ba        mase

• 把持  bachi    haji

• 把    ba         ba/pa

Well, this one does get complicated. The bisyllabic /bachi/ very clearly relates to the Japanese /haji/. However the other examples do not follow the pattern. This will require more in depth research.

• 崩壊   benghuai       hookai
• 奔流   benliu            honryoo

This hypothesis has the best legs. What more can we find in these examples? Here is your chance to offer suggestions and help me correct any mistakes.

ありがとうございます！じゃあまた！